January 20, 2012

The following is a report received by Commissioner Jimmy Conner this morning.

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We have visibility issues due to the two brush fires which occurred Wednesday. The smoke and fog are mixing reducing visibility to zero. SR46 and CR33 are both closed in the area of the fires. I expect this trend to continue for the next several days. Appropriate signage is in place and law enforcement is patrolling these areas. Today we had five vehicle accidents due to the conditions. The accidents were not serious.

January 15, 2012

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County commissioners have put up a temporary wall on new Internet cafes that offer casino-style games and winnings.

For six months, county officials will not issue permits to cafes trying to open in unincorporated Lake. Commissioners approved the moratorium last week, citing residents' safety and welfare.

"In the big picture of quality of life, I think that any type of gambling is not positive for our society," said Commissioner Jimmy Conner, who made a motion to approve the moratorium.

Lake County Commissioners to Highlight Accomplishments in 2011
By Eloísa Ruano González, Orlando Sentinel

January 9, 2012

TAVARES - Like in most Florida counties, 2011 proved to be another tough year for Lake. Property-tax revenues continued to plummet, forcing county officials to cut positions and dip into reserves to balance the budget this past fall.

Despite the bleak economy, officials said the county accomplished a lot this past fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, to improve the quality of life in Lake. That includes road improvements, public safety and economic development.

County commissioners will spend part of their meeting Tuesday highlighting some of the "successes" of 2011. The state-of-the-county address, open to the public, will start at 9 a.m. in commission chambers at the round courthouse.

"This is something that we have been doing in Lake County for many years to provide an overview of accomplishments of the past year with an eye toward the future," commission Chairwoman Leslie Campione said.

Campione will officiate the event, which will include a 10-minute video titled "Fostering a Brighter Economic Climate — Seasons of Accomplishment." The video will feature Commissioner Jennifer Hill and County Manager Darren Gray.

Some of the highlights that officials plan to mention in the video include:

•Construction a new bridge on Picciola Road. The county used $4 million in federal stimulus dollars to replace old bridge, which was aging and narrow.

•Completion of many road projects using federal grants. Nearly $1 million was spent on repaving parts of Sleepy Hollow Road, County Road 44 and County Road 452.

• Upgrading of the county's emergency 9-1-1 system.

• Launching of AlertLake, an automated phone-warning system. It notifies residents of any tornadoes and emergencies in the area.

•Development of an Economic Action Plan to develop a "business-friendly" environment and spur economic growth in Lake.

OrlandoSentinel.com
Lake should ignore commissioner's waffling and build emergency operations center

COMMENTARY
December 30, 2011
Second of two parts.

The Lake sheriff's communications center is so crowded that many dispatchers can't roll their chairs back far enough from their desks to stand up.

They have to slither out sideways and clamber over one another to take a restroom break or have lunch. There is no room for more work stations, yet more cities are thinking of asking Sheriff Gary Borders to take over their dispatching operations.

Clearly, the communications center must be expanded.

An opportunity emerged after Lake commissioners considered that the county's round courthouse, where the makeshift emergency operations center is housed, has skylights that have leaked during heavy rains. The idea: combine communications and emergency operations for a more secure, efficient operation, both daily and during emergencies.

When Lake commissioners considered that the county's round courthouse in Tavares where the makeshift emergency operations center is located has skylights that have leaked during heavy rains, an opportunity emerged: combine communications and emergency operations for a more secure, efficient operation, both daily and during emergencies.

That's a short version of how the commissioners came to vote in March to build a new emergency operations center that would combine communications for the sheriff and the six cities for which he dispatches; dispatch for fire and ambulance services, which are in rented space in Mount Dora; and offices for the emergency operations folks, who don't have a real center.

The price tag for the building to be constructed near the judicial-center expansion is $9 million —$4.5 million of it from a state grant. Sweet. The other half is coming from sales taxes returned to the county by the state. That revenue stream holding its own, even in this economic downturn.

Already, the county has laid out $500,000, mostly to design the building, and is moving along with a domino chain of renovations that the moves will cause as other crowded operations move into the space being vacated.

So, why would Commissioner Sean Parks, the swing vote on the matter, now say that he wants to reconsider his decision and put the sales-tax money toward economic development, thereby wasting a half million already spent?

Who knows? Parks did not respond requests to explain his position.

Economies of scale

What is clear is that the commissioner didn't bother to look very deeply into the issue before throwing that explosive suggestion to his colleagues. Certainly, there were reasons back in March to vote against building an emergency operations center. The county does need a center, but was it No. 1 on the priority list nine months ago? Probably not. That would have been the time to vote no.

Now that taxpayer cash has been spent, backing out would be irresponsible, especially considering that the county wasted another $860,000 starting and then stopping an earlier project that included an emergency operations center four years ago. Is it really a good idea to fritter away $1.4 million on indecision?

Let's take a deeper look at what Lake really could save if Parks decides he wants to halt the project. Keep in mind that Lake taxpayers are getting an emergency operations center for half price — $4.5 million.

Now, factor in what the county would have to keep paying in rent if commissioners decide not to build the center. About $30,000 a year goes to climate-controlled, secure data storage that maintains all the county's official financial records, and another $17,000 a year is spent on rent for the ambulance service's communications center, which also handles countywide fire dispatch.

So, each year that the emergency operations center is not built, the county must figure nearly $50,000 in rent for operations things that would have been moved into the new building.

And then, there are the sheriff's problems.

Six cities contract with Borders' office for dispatch services, and several more have been exploring the possibility of the sheriff handling dispatch because he typically can provide it more cheaply, thanks to the economies of scale.

Right now, the sheriff could not take on any more cities because there is not enough room for any more work stations in dispatch, which is located in the sheriff's building behind the round courthouse.

Down the hall, the computer folks who run the sheriff's networks are sandwiched together in what amounts to an oversized closet with constantly humming, hot computer servers without backup in case of a power or air-conditioning failure. Such crowded operations are part of the domino effect of moves based on the construction of the emergency operations center.

Grand plan

But if it's not built, what might happen?

It would be convenient if other operations housed on the second floor of the 1962 building with dispatch could be moved and the communications center could expand right where it is. But that's not possible because the building is too cut up by elevators and pieces of walls patched together with skylights. Architects say it can't be configured to accommodate the complex radio and telephone systems of a communications center.

Borders' plan if the county ditches the emergency operations center is to move dispatch to the first floor of the same building — a pricey change that involves building a false floor and installing masses of complicated wiring in harnesses and trays in the space below the floor. Neither the sheriff nor the county knows for sure what that might cost, but renovations in that old building seem likely to rise easily above $1 million level. That would put a big dent in any "savings" the county might realize from killing the emergency operations project.

Part of the grand plan that hinges on the emergency operations construction is for the historic courthouse to be renovated for the sheriff's administration, professional standards, records and finance.

There had been roughly $2 million in the budget for renovations of the sheriff's building and historic courthouse combined. Renovation money for the sheriff's building disappeared, however, when the county discovered that the historic courthouse does not meet code in the areas of fire and air conditioning, said Kristian Swensen, county director of Facilities Development & Management.

'Ready for them decide'

The historic courthouse, constructed in 1923 in a neo-classical architectural style for $250,000, was last renovated 14 years ago at a cost of $3.5 million. It has been sitting empty since the tax collector and property appraiser moved out two years ago. (And, yes, taxpayers are still footing the light bill.)

Architectural plans for the historic courthouse are done, but Borders said that eliminating the emergency operations center and forcing the communications center to stay where it is would trigger changes in which operations he would move to the historic building. That means more architectural fees to change the design.

"We're just ready for them to decide," Borders said. "In the long term, putting all the public safety and communications under one roof is the best way to go. But we will work with what we have and continue to do a good job at it."

Lake County Emergency Medical Services could stay where it is, said Jim Judge, the executive director. EMS has a multiyear lease that can be extended, but Judge said the safety and efficiency benefits of all dispatch being in a single place shouldn't be discounted when making the decision.

So, instead of saving $4.5 million that could be spent on some economic development project Parks has yet to identify, the county might save, what, say, $2 million tops? No one knows for sure. And over several years, that savings would disappear as the county continues to pay nearly $50,000 a year in rent.

In the end, is it worth turning down a $9 million emergency operations center and wasting $500,000 to save a couple of million in the short run? It is not.

Commissioners made a decision in March, and now they have let the project get too far to stop it. In addition, when will a half-price deal like this one come along again? Never. Other commissioners need to stiffen their spines, ignore Parks' waffling and get the emergency operations center built.

December 24, 2011
The Orlando Sentinel

Libraries continue to play an integral role in the digital age, and old-fashioned hardcover books are just as important as ever. That's the upshot from data and comments collected by the Lake County Library System.

Libraries took part in "Snapshot: A Day in the Life of Florida Libraries" in November. This year's theme was "Get Caught Reading" — among them children's librarian Jeanine Ryan, right, conducting story time at the Umatilla Public Library.

Many people related their love of libraries as part of the statewide project coordinated by the Florida Library Association along with the State Library of Florida and State Archives of Florida.

A "snapshot" of the library system from a single day found that 8,413 Lake residents visited libraries; 7,456 books and other items were borrowed; 2,429 visitors used a library computer; 69 students were helped with homework; and 30 job seekers were assisted.

December 20, 2011
The Orlando Sentinel

TAVARES — Lake County commissioners today pulled the plug on a five-day music festival north of Mascotte.

Commissioners unanimously voted to deny a permit for the Bond-fire Arts & Music Festival, which was scheduled to start Dec. 29. They said organizers didn't submit an application on time, leaving law enforcement and other public-safety officials little time to plan for the festival.

County officials also were concerned the dirt road is not equipped to handle ambulance and firetrucks in case of an emergency.

"I would hate to try to cram this through and not be prepared and something bad to happen," Commissioner Jimmy Conner said. "This would be on our shoulders."

The festival was expected to bring in more than 2,000 people from throughout the U.S. and Canada, said organizers, who had lined up about 50 bands, ranging from rock to funk to jazz, to play on two stages in a 40-acre pasture west of County Road 33.

The event likely will be moved to another venue, said Chris Bolster, the festival's senior supervising producer.

December 14, 2011

Commissioners will be discussing the five cent per gallon local option gas tax in January and may consider putting it on a referendum for the voters to decide in 2012.

Read more from yesterday's meeting at the link below.

December 6, 2011

November 30, 2011

This is just another example of the Commission being focused and pro-active in supporting local businesses throughout all of Lake County.

Read full article at link below.

November 19, 2011

Commissioner Jimmy Conner has been a strong supporter of the partnership Lake County has with the Central Florida Sports Commission and he continues to be impressed with the economic impact their events bring to Lake County.
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The Central Florida Sports Commission once again played host to the St. John's Collegiate Classic Golf Tournament which was held for the 10th consecutive year at the Mission Inn Resort & Club, October 21-23. The event brought in 10 men's collegiate golf teams from around the north east and Florida, ranging from New York and Maryland to Miami. The event was a great success and we have already begun plans to bring them back again next year. Over the same weekend as the Collegiate Classic, we once again hosted the Florida Rugby Union All Florida Day. 36 teams from around the state traveled to Lake County for a weekend of competition. In all, close to 1,000 people were in attendance for the event which was hosted at the Hickory Point Soccer Complex for the 5th year in a row.

November started off with a bang by hosting the FHSAA State Golf Championships, which was staged for the first time in Lake County. The two-day championship was held November 1-2 using both Las Colinas and El Campion courses at Mission Inn, as well as Deer Island Country Club in Tavares and Harbor Hills Country Club in Leesburg. With 396 golfers and nearly 1,000 coaches and spectators traveling to Lake County, this event is expected to generate approximately $500,000 in economic impact for the county. We look forward to welcoming the FHSAA State Golf Championships back to Lake County again next year, and hopefully many more to come.

4:30PM Update

January 12, 2012

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The action will deter offenders from moving into Lake and setting up "sex-offender villages," Commissioner Jimmy Conner said after the meeting. The restrictions send a strong message, he said.

"That is: convicted sex offenders not welcomed," Conner said. "I'm not ashamed or afraid to send that message. You ought not to be scared or timid when it comes to protecting young people. You should be bold and aggressive. And, I think, that's what we're doing."

January 5, 2012

TAVARES — The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity completed its review of Lake County’s proposed Enterprise Zone, and in a letter to county chairman Leslie Campione, gave its approval.
With the approval of Lake County’s Enterprise Zone, businesses and residents located within the designated areas of Eustis, Leesburg and Mascotte, will be eligible for financial incentives offered by the state, as well as Lake County.
“We are very pleased that the county’s Enterprise Zone was approved by the state,” said Campione. “Establishing this program in Lake County goes hand-in-hand with the goals outlined in the county’s Economic Action Plan, which targets implementing initiatives that spur economic development and revitalization efforts for local businesses.”
In November 2011, Lake County Commissioners approved an ordinance that established an Enterprise Zone Development Agency, an 11-member group that will assist in the development, implementation and annual review and update of the strategic plan to be drafted for the Enterprise Zone, among other duties. Applications will soon be accepted for those interested in becoming a member of the agency.
For more information about Lake County’s Enterprise Zone, contact the Growth Management Department at (352) 343-9647. For information on applying to be on the Enterprise Zone Development Agency, contact the Board Office at (352) 343-9850.

December 28, 2011
OrlandoSentinel.com
Lauren Ritchie

First of two parts.

Nine months ago, county commissioners voted 3-2 to build an emergency operations center.

Since then, the county has spent $500,000, mostly on architect fees, to design and to prepare to build next to the new judicial-center expansion in downtown Tavares.

Last week, Commissioner Sean Parks, who was the swing vote in March, said he wants to reconsider his decision.

Oh, brother. Parks is flip-flopping more than a crappie on a dock in the middle of summer. A lot of taxpayer money is at stake, and Parks is opening a scenario far more complicated than he knows.

The question of whether to build an emergency operations center was in dispute before commissioners voted earlier this year.

The current operations center isn't a center at all. When there's a hurricane or some other disaster coming through, the county fires up its operation in the round courthouse, which isn't constructed to withstand storms, has little security and boasts skylights that are lovely on sunny days but not so useful in a storm.

The emergency communications centers for fire, ambulance and law enforcement are in different places — none in the same building as the county's "center."

The plan commissioners approved in March is to build a center at the heart of county government that would be "hardened," or constructed to withstand the winds of a Category 5 hurricane. The original cost of $11.9 million was whittled down to a maximum of $9 million, and a series of grants is to pay for about $4.5 million of it. The other half of the cost is to come from sales-tax collections returned to the county by the state.

The new building is to consolidate the dispatch services for fire, ambulance, the Sheriff's Office and six of the county's 14 municipalities in one building that would be equipped to continue functioning during disaster.

The emergency services folks who run disaster operations would have offices in the same spot and would be right there when they're needed.

Financing seems secure

Commissioner Welton Cadwell said he became convinced the county was courting disaster with a joke of an emergency operations center when tornadoes struck the county in 2007. As he watched, Cadwell realized how critical it is to public safety for emergency operations to be fully functional.

Commissioner Jimmy Conner, who voted with colleague Leslie Campione against building the center, said at the time that he didn't think the county could afford to build with a drooping economy.

Even those who voted for the project — Parks, Cadwell and Jennifer Hill — were rightfully nervous that sales-tax revenue might drop, leaving the county scrambling to pay for the new building. However, sales-tax money has been the one shining spot in the county's budget. More money than was predicted is actually being collected, so the financing seems secure.

However, Parks said during last week's commission meeting that he wants to reconsider his vote because any money the county has should be going to job creation. He did not say specifically how he would spend any savings or what he thinks the savings might total. He didn't reply to emails asking for the information and for an explanation of why he is backing away from the project.

If Parks flip-flops on this issue, and other commissioners keep their positions, they'll be wasting a boatload of public money and leaving people even more convinced that they're not fit to govern.

Commissioner should do research

The county has spent $500,000 already, County Manager Darren Gray said. He suggested that couldn't be considered a loss because the county would own the architectural drawings and could construct the building later.

That's one way to look at it. Another way is that this would be a $500,000 flush of taxpayer money down the toilet if the commission voted to back out now. When was the last time some government constructed a building from years-old plans? It doesn't happen.

And this wouldn't be the first time that the commission considered this project and then turned tail. In 2007, taxpayers got shafted to the tune of $860,000 when commissioners decided to build a government complex south of Tavares that included an emergency operations center and then stopped when they realized that the economy was not in the best of shape.

If the commission did a U-turn now, that means it would have foolishly wasted $1.4 million in the past four years starting and stopping on such projects.

How irresponsible would that be?

Too bad Parks didn't do a little research before tossing his idea into the public arena.

If he had, he would have learned about the hidden costs. On Friday, we'll take a look at what his waffling might cost taxpayers on several fronts.

December 23, 2011
Daily Commercial

Lake County Commissioner Sean Parks' motion to revisit the board's approval of a new emergency operations center has been criticized by colleague Jimmy Conner as a potentially costly "flip-flop.''

In a 3-2 vote in March, the 27,000-square-foot Emergency Communications and Operations Center was approved at a cost not to exceed $9 million. Parks, Jennifer Hill and Welton Cadwell voted for the project; Conner and Leslie Campione were opposed.

The county has already been billed about $500,000 for preliminary work such as design and engineering, staff said.

Parks this week said while the center is much-needed, he has budget concerns. The county is hoping that construction bids due in February come in significantly less than $9 million, and commissioners are expected to reconsider the project at that time, said Kelly LaFollette, information outreach director.

"If Sean Parks changes his vote on this project, he will single-handedly be responsible for wasting well over a half-million dollars of taxpayer dollars spent on this project, because of his indecision,'' Conner said.

The county has $4.5 million in federal and state grants for the center, with the rest coming from sales taxes. Parks said he wants to see if costs can be cut to possibly free up sales-tax money for parks and recreation projects or roads and infrastructure, in light of declining property-tax revenues.

"The sales-tax money needs to be spent directly on jobs creation at this point, and improving the quality of life, and improving property values,'' Parks said.

Conner said that the county's financial situation has not changed and, in fact, it is in better position to pay for the project now because sales-tax revenue has gone up in the past year.

"He's using that as political cover for another one of his famous flip-flops,'' said Conner. He said Parks changed his mind about cutting the sheriff's budget earlier this year.

Conner, who said he has always opposed the project, said commissioners repeatedly told Parks that once an architect was hired, there would be no turning back on the project. He said that if Parks had felt this way months ago, the costs could have been avoided.

"He has a pattern of indecision, and this is now becoming very costly,'' Conner said.

"I don't see it as flip-flopping at all,'' Parks said. "I strongly assert that it's the job of the commission to scrutinize projects to the very end.''

The center would be located in the former parking lot of the judicial center in Tavares, and also would include a 911 dispatching center. No work has begun on the site.

December 19, 2011

Commissioner Jimmy Conner supports adding athletic fields for our young people at the National Training Center. This issue will be presented tomorrow at the Commission meeting.

Conner has been a longtime supporter of this plan saying it is much more affordable than purchasing property and spending money for infrastructure which is already present at the NTC.

"Putting dollars into facilities that can be immediately utilized is much wiser than trying to build what we can not afford," said Conner.

With the addition of the Minneola Athletic Complex, these fields will help meet pressing needs in South Lake County.

December 13, 2011

December 3, 2011

Commissioner Jimmy Conner would like to congratulate and thank Sheriff Gary Borders for the most successful drug bust in Lake County history. Conner worked closely with Sheriff Borders earlier this year to ban the expansion of pill mills which distributes masses of prescription drugs that are used, in many instances, illegally.
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In what is being billed as the biggest and most successful undercover drug sting in Lake County, 111 suspects have been jailed on narcotics charges in a six-month operation that ended with a three-day, door-to-door sweep Friday.

More than $1 million in drugs and $60,000 in cash was seized in the multi-agency operation.

Standing in front of a table covered with bags of marijuana, crack cocaine, hundreds of oxycodone, xanax and other illegal pills, AK47s and cash, Sheriff Gary Borders had a press conference in Tavares to announce the arrests.

November 22, 2011

November 15, 2011

Commissioner Jimmy Conner supports the toughest sex offender laws possible and the Commission is toughening the sex offender ordinance even more.

Read full story at link below.